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Submission + - A Months-Long Investigations Reveals Pornhub's Terrible Moderation Practices (vice.com)

Submitted by samleecole
samleecole writes: On May 1, 2016, in the middle of final exams, a young woman got a text message that would change her life forever. It included a screenshot of a pornographic video posted online, featuring her. Panicking, she quickly tried to justify what she had done. "They said it would only be in Australia," she told her friend, according to court documents. "I only did it for money."

The video spread like wildfire. Jane Doe 11—one of 22 women who sued porn production company Girls Do Porn in 2016 for coercing them to have sex on video and lying to them about how the videos would be distributed—learned from the student council president that "everyone was watching it in the library, so much so that the internet essentially crashed."

In October 2019, after Michael Pratt was charged with federal sex trafficking crimes, Pornhub removed Girls Do Porn's official Pornhub channel, as well as pages promoting Girls Do Porn as "top shelf" content and a reason to pay Pornhub a subscription fee. In January, after the ruling in the civil case found Girls Do Porn owed 22 women a total of $13 million, the official GirlsDoPorn.com site was taken offline.

But even with the official site shut down and its owners in jail or on the run, the ruling has done little to stop the spread of the videos online.

Pornhub claims that victims of nonconsensual porn—as many of the Girls Do Porn videos are—can easily request to remove videos from the site, and that those videos can be "fingerprinted." Broadly speaking, video fingerprinting is a method for software to identify, extract, and then summarize characteristic components or metadata of a video, allowing that video to be uniquely identified by its "fingerprint." According to Pornhub, this would automatically prevent future attempts to upload a video that was flagged.

But a Motherboard investigation found that this system can be easily and quickly circumvented with minor editing. Pornhub's current method for removing Girls Do Porn videos and other forms of non-consensual porn not only puts the onus of finding and flagging videos almost entirely on potentially-traumatized victims—those victims can't even rely on the system to work.

Submission + - Neanderthal Contribution to Human Civilization

Submitted by reporter
reporter writes: A report by the National Institute of Mental Health states that, compared to an African brain, a Neanderthal brain has more neurons for visuospatial reasoning and less neurons for social skills. Visuospatial reasoning is the reasoning used by mechanical engineers for designing cars or airplanes.

Also, a report by the BBC states that "all individuals outside of Africa still carry evidence of this prehistoric mingling. ... There's a lot of it out there – across thousands of individuals, researchers have identified a combined total of 20% Neanderthal DNA in modern humans today."

Thus, we can infer that many technologies developed by Europeans are partially due to the Neanderthal genes, which gave Europeans enhanced visuospatial reasoning.

In addition to interbreeding with our non-African ancestors, the Neanderthals also taught them how to make tools. The BBC reports that "[the Neanderthals] may even have taught us modern humans a thing or two. There is now evidence that suggests this is exactly what happened when Neanderthals and modern humans came into contact. A type of bone tool, discovered at a known Neanderthal site, later was also found where only modern humans lived."

Submission + - Tencent lead statistics show 16% virus mortality (taiwannews.com.tw)

Submitted by ElitistWhiner
ElitistWhiner writes: Four consecutive Tencent postings show that the number of infections and deaths are being reported in China by factors of 10 less than official Beijing numbers released publicly.
Speculation is either a posting glitch is responsible in hosting a wrong dataset
OR
An insider is deliberately acting to disclose the true scope and magnitude of the epidemic in China

Submission + - Should Social Media Platforms be the Arbiters of Truth? (easydns.com)

Submitted by Stunt Pope
Stunt Pope writes: The backstory behind Zerohedge's recent suspension from Twitter, combined with today's deplatforming of James O'Keefe portends an increasing and disturbing trend toward chilling effects on free speech and contrarian opinions.

A double standard exists between who gets suspended and who doesn't, especially prevalent on Twitter, as the hallowed "blue check" confers a license to doxx, and worse, with impunity; while those without one face arbitrary and Kafka-esque sanctions and suspensions for purely imaginary infractions of the same rules.
 

Submission + - All Foreign Nations to Investigate US Government exposed STIGS and SCAP secrets 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Would all Foreign Nations negotiate what Foreign Nation would take over US Government due to exposed STIGS and SCAP secrets that anyone can download on EPEAK ? Foreign Nations would tap US Government infrastructure and tap Americans because of this outburst on the web. The following US Government Top Secret and Secrets can be downloaded at EPEAK however this site is based in India however Foreign Nations will see US Government do not adhere to securing their own classified information in United States see article at EPEAK.in (Terrorist can access all US Government Secrets on Google an copy US Gov Servers) Read more at: https://snewsi.com/id/19289109...

According to reports, the US Government Top Secret and Secret information is used on internal US Military bases to secure servers. Based on what is publicly reported, foreign governments spent millions in 2013 to develop relationships within the United States with members of Congress, federal agencies and even the media, according to an analysis from the ever-informative Sunlight Foundation.

The United Arab Emirates spent a whopping $14.2 million to influence Americans, making contacts, among many others, with columnists and reporters to discuss “illicit finance issues.” Those conversations likely focused on terrorist financing and Iran sanctions, two issues that punctuated a visit Deputy Secretary of Treasury David Cohen made to the UAE early last year.

Foreign lobbying disclosures by law are much more specific than domestic ones, requiring nations to say who they contacted, when and why. For example, UAE reached out to The Washington Post’s conservative opinion blogger Jennifer Rubin in December 2013 regarding illicit finance.

The law that governs these stricter reporting requirements, the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, was created to keep tabs on Nazi propagandists during World War II. Why reporters? The United States feared Nazi Germany was paying public relations people to spin Hitler’s motives in conversations with American journalists.

Sunlight, which just last week unveiled a new data tool called Foreign Influence Explorer, analyzed spending that “foreign entities or their paid representatives reported to the Department of Justice for 2013.” The data collected by Justice does not include “diplomatic contacts by members of a nation’s embassy.” Foreign Nations would cancel any trade deals established with US Government since discovering the article title “FBI abolishes in U.S Government exposing all Secrets” that would withdraw foreign currency from US Dollar. What would be Foreign Governments stance on US Government exposed secrets ?

Submission + - Scientists Produce 400 Year El Nino Record (phys.org)

Submitted by William Robinson
William Robinson writes: Using cores drilled from coral, scientists have been able to produce the first 400-year-long seasonal record of El Nino events. This understanding of El Niño events is vital because they produce extreme weather across the globe with particularly profound effects on precipitation and temperature extremes, all over the world. The study concludes that a new category of El Niño has become far more prevalent in the last few decades than at any time in the past four centuries. Over the same period, traditional El Niño events have become more intense.

Submission + - SPAM: How Google Protected Andy Rubin, the 'Father of Android'

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Google gave Andy Rubin, the creator of Android mobile software, a hero’s farewell when he left the company in October 2014.

What Google did not make public was that an employee had accused Mr. Rubin of sexual misconduct. The woman, with whom Mr. Rubin had been having an extramarital relationship, said he coerced her into performing oral sex in a hotel room in 2013, according to two company executives with knowledge of the episode. Google investigated and concluded her claim was credible, said the people, who spoke on the condition that they not be named, citing confidentiality agreements. Mr. Rubin was notified, they said, and Mr. Page asked for his resignation.

Google could have fired Mr. Rubin and paid him little to nothing on the way out. Instead, the company handed him a $90 million exit package, paid in installments of about $2 million a month for four years, said two people with knowledge of the terms. The last payment is scheduled for next month.

Mr. Rubin was one of three executives that Google protected over the past decade after they were accused of sexual misconduct. In two instances, it ousted senior executives, but softened the blow by paying them millions of dollars as they departed, even though it had no legal obligation to do so. In a third, the executive remained in a highly compensated post at the company. Each time Google stayed silent about the accusations against the men.
Link to Original Source

Submission + - What Happens When Telecom Companies Search Your Home for Piracy (vice.com)

Submitted by ted_pikul
ted_pikul writes: Adam Lackman ran TVAddons, a site hosting unofficial addons for Kodi media center. Last year, a legal team representing some of Canada's most powerful telecom and media companies raided his home with a court order—they searched his apartment, copying hard drives and devices, took his laptop, and shut down his website and Twitter account. Now, he's being sued for piracy and sinking deep into debt as he fights to make it to trial.

Submission + - What happened when Boston Schools tried for bus fairness with an algorithm (bostonglobe.com) 1

Submitted by sandbagger
sandbagger writes: Last year, the Boston Public Schools asked MIT graduate students Sébastien Martin and Arthur Delarue to build an algorithm that could do the enormously complicated work of changing start times at dozens of schools — and rerouting the hundreds of buses that serve them. In theory this would also help with student alertness.

The political firestorm that erupted proved once more that computer can solve problems but whether or not the answer is politically or socially acceptable is another matter

Submission + - Diversity pressures versus scientific standards (city-journal.org)

Submitted by sandbagger
sandbagger writes: Somehow, NSF-backed scientists managed to rack up more than 200 Nobel Prizes before the agency realized that scientific progress depends on “diversity.” Those “un-diverse” scientists discovered the fundamental particles of matter and unlocked the genetics of viruses. The pressure to increase the representation of females, blacks, and Hispanics comes from the federal government, university administrators, and scientific societies themselves. That pressure is changing how science is taught and how scientific qualifications are evaluated. The results will be disastrous for scientific innovation and for American competitiveness.

Submission + - Clinton Had Uncleared Filipino Maid Print Emails, Handle Sensitive Documents (nypost.com) 13

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The New York Post reveals that Hillary Clinton routinely had her emails forwarded so her immigrant Filipino maid who lacked a security clearance could print her emails from an iMac in Clinton's home, including ones that contained classified information. The maid also had access to the SCIF (sensitive compartmented information facility) built at Clinton's home so she could "securely" receive Top Secret information such as the presidential daily brief she received at times. The maid was expected to retrieve faxed information from the SCIF for Secretary Clinton. It appears that the maid was never interviewed by the FBI, nor was the computer seized or searched. One is left wondering, "Was email that hard to print in 2009?" Will the reinvigorated FBI investigation cover untrodden ground like this, or just serve as another white wash?

Submission + - De Beers Scientists Fight the Growing Threat of Man-Made Diamonds 1

Submitted by HughPickens.com
HughPickens.com writes: The WSJ reports that a small team of scientists working for De Beers is scrambling to stave off a looming threat that could tarnish the luster of natural-mined diamonds: high-quality man-made stones. For now, while synthetics make up just a fraction of the market, they have growing appeal to younger buyers — a headache for mine owners, who are under pressure to cut supply and lower prices, because traders, cutters and polishers are struggling to profit amid a credit squeeze and languishing jewelry sales. Synthetic producers can make 250,000 carats to 350,000 carats of rough diamonds annually, according to industry estimates, compared with about 135 million rough carats mined every year. But Martin Roscheisen, chief executive of Diamond Foundry Inc., a San Francisco synthetic-diamond producer with a capacity of 24,000 carats, says he believes nearly all diamonds consumers purchase will be man-made in a few decades. To counter the threat, last year De Beers helped launch a trade association with other producers to market the attraction of natural diamonds. At a plant about 30 miles west of London, De Beers scientists have been working to detect synthetic diamonds for years. The company has its own synthetic-diamond facility, called Element Six, which produces synthetic diamonds for industrial purposes, such as drilling, and helps De Beers keep up with technological developments. It also started marketing a new, cheap detector called PhosView, that uses ultraviolet light to detect lab-grown stones that quickly screens tiny synthetic diamonds. “We’re very focused on detection,” says Simon Lawson, head of Technologies U.K. at De Beers. “It underpins the integrity of natural diamonds and ensures that consumers cannot be duped into buying a synthetic diamond.” Despite the increased competition, De Beers has no intention of selling synthetics. “De Beers’ focus is on natural diamonds,” says Lawson. “We would not do anything that would cannibalize that industry.”

Submission + - Security Firm Shows How to Hack a US Voting Machine (bleepingcomputer.com) 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Three days before the US Presidential Election takes place, California-based security firm Cylance showed the world how easy is to hack one of the many voting machine models that will be deployed at voting stations across the US on Election Day. The machine that Cylance researchers chose for their test was the Sequoia AVC Edge Mk1, one of the most popular models. The technique researchers created modifies the Public Counter, but also the Protective Counter, which is a backup mechanism that acts as a redundant verification system to ensure the first vote results are valid. Physical access is needed to hack the machine, but the hack takes a short time to perform. According to statements from FBI Director James Comey, hacking voting machines doesn't seem to be an issue as problematic as voter registration systems, which are connected to the Internet.

And again, these are the voter registration systems. This is very different from the vote system in the United States, which is very very hard for someone to hack into, cause it's so clunky and dispersed. It's Mary and Fred putting a machine under the basketball hoop at the gym. Those things are not connected to the Internet, but the voter registration are.

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